An FCT High Court, Maitama has fixed Jan. 12, 2016 for hearing in a suit
challenging the eligibility of Timipreye Sylva to contest the
forthcoming governorship election in Bayelsa. Sylva, a former governor
of Bayelsa, is the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) for
the Dec. 5 governorship election in Bayelsa.
Bayelsa governor, Seriake Dickson and his party, the Peoples Democratic
Party (PDP) filed the suit seeking to disqualify Sylva from
participating in the election. The plaintiffs are asking the court to
declare that Sylva was not qualified to contest the election because he
had been elected twice and had taken oath of office twice as governor of
the state.
At the resumed hearing of the case on Tuesday, counsel to the
plaintiffs, Friday Nwosu said that Sylva had previously been elected
twice as governor of Bayelsa in 2007 and 2008. “The 2007 election was
nullified by the Court Of Appeal and Sylva contested and won the re-run
election, whereupon he was elected the second time and served for about a
cumulative period of four years and seven months as the governor of the
state.
“He now seeks to be elected a third time as governor of Bayelsa state in
the said forthcoming elections. “This is against the relevant
constitutional provision in section 182 (1)(b) of the 1999 constitution
of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 as amended.
“The section states that, `no person shall be qualified for election to
the office of governor of a state if- “(b) he has been elected to such
office at any two previous elections” Counsel to the defendants, Akeem
Afolabi, said they have filed a preliminary objection challenging the
territorial jurisdiction of the FCT High Court to hear the case.
Afolabi said that the case related to the office of governor of Bayelsa;
it is either the Bayelsa High Court or the Federal High Court that has
the jurisdiction to entertain it. Justice Mukhtar Dodo ordered the
lawyers to serve all the processes in the case on parties to the
suit. He adjourned till Jan. 12, 2016 for continuation of hearing,
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